The invention concerns a hinge, in particular for an article of furniture, including an inner hinge portion which can be fixed to a furniture carcass (furniture body) or to a furniture door pivotably mounted thereto, an outer hinge portion which can be fixed to an outer door, and a connecting device that is slideable in an inserting direction and which connects the inner hinge portion to the outer hinge portion pivotably relative to each other by a lower receiving device, an upper receiving device, and a central receiving device.
Hinges of that kind are already known and are shown, inter alia, in patent specification DE 444 2625 A1. Additional hinges of that kind are shown in EP 0569 818 A1, in DE 15 84 006 A1 and in DE 44 42 625 A1. Those hinges are used, for example, for an article of furniture equipped with folding doors. The folding doors are connected rotatably relative to each other by the hinges, and the connection of the hinge halves to the folding doors is often effected by positively locking or force-locking fixing elements. A hinge is generally made in two parts, and the two parts are rotatably connected together by way of a connecting element. In the mounting operation, folding doors are usually fixed to a furniture carcass which has already been set up. In that case, the first folding door is connected to the furniture carcass and the further folding doors are hung from the first folding door by the described hinges. Mounting of the hinges is effected at the inside of the folding doors in order to conceal them in the closed condition of the folding doors. The gap between the fitted folding doors should be as small as possible for visual reasons, for example in order not to be able to see into the article of furniture in the closed condition of the folding doors.
Particularly in the case of large heavy folding doors, it is often complicated for a folding door to be fitted to a folding door which is already fixed to the furniture carcass. The folding door on the one hand has to be lifted, aligned, held, and joined to the hinge. Often, the person who is assembling the article of furniture, during the operation of joining the doors to the hinges, has to align, hold and at the same time screw on the folding door when no second person who can help is available. In addition, it is difficult to insert the fingers into the very narrow gap between the folding doors to be able to hold and position the folding doors. All those disadvantages apply not only to fitment of the folding doors but also to removal thereof in the case of, for example, a moving house if the article of furniture were to be taken down. Without an additional person or without technical aids, care must constantly be taken to ensure that, for example, the seat of the positively locking or force-locking fixing elements between the hinge and the folding door is not damaged when they are removed. In the case of hinges equipped with a pin, the folding doors have to be introduced into the pin from above. That is often very difficult by virtue of the proportions and also the weight of the folding door, in particular when the gap between the doors is very small. In addition, if the doors have great weight and have sharp edges, there is even a serious risk of injury to the fingers.